Monday, August 26, 2013

I will get back to them, I promise. But school just started and I'm still getting back into my work routine. Plus the garden has been producing abundantly this year and I am still canning and freezing. In the past two days, I froze corn, canned tomatoes, canned smooth pear sauce, chunky pear sauce, and pear jam. If I couldn't fill a jar with it the extras went in the freezer so I added tomatoes and pears to the freezer, too. I still have a ton of tomatoes and corn but I've finished the pears. Then I will have to freeze a whole lot of winter squash because we don't have a root cellar yet. We will eat well this next year but minis have to be on hold for a bit longer. I am reading all of your blog posts even though I am currently a bad blogger, lol. Back as soon as I can!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Dr. Bindy and I have known each other since we were
kids. It wasn’t until recently that I learned about his custom action
figures. The term “miniaturist” covers more than just those of us who
work with doll houses. Some miniaturists build models or create gaming
figures. Others, like Dr. Bindy, create amazing custom action figures in
1:18 scale. That’s very close to the scale of many vintage dollhouses.
They are actually 1:16 or ¾ scale but 1:18 figures will work in those
settings. I have three of Dr. Bindy’s figures – two in a vintage tin
litho house and one in my husband’s radio room.

De: How did you get your start in custom work?
Dr. B: Purely by chance. I started out by customizing vintage 12”
Johnny West action figures, after I found some of the ones I had as a
kid. While searching for others online, I found a community of people
who customize them. It looked fun, so I gave it a shot. I mainly did
it to add real western characters to my growing Johnny West collection,
like the Earps, for example. Many of the skills I have developed and
use in the current 1:18 scale customizing are ones I first learned with Johnny West. As for my current 1:18
scale work (which is mostly derived from the modern era of 4” G.I. Joe
figures, but includes any in-scale items), it was even more by chance. I
had already decided to pack up my Johnny West figures because of how
much space they were taking. Then Hasbro began making new styled 4”
figures based on the ones I had grown up with, as a 25th
anniversary product, the same year my son was born. Thus, while going
to Toys R Us for baby things, I found a new G.I.Joe toy unlike anything I
had ever seen before. Of course I bought it “for my son”. Shortly
thereafter I was putting my customizing skills to the test on these new
items. I haven’t looked back since. I can justify to myself that they
take up less space by being smaller, yet I have more room dedicated to
this hobby now than ever before.De: What is the process for creating a custom figure? Dr.
B: The fun part about this is that every figure brings its own
challenge. First, you have to decide what you are making. Am I making a
G.I. Joe character that simply hasn’t been made, or made well? Am I
using parts from various figures to make a character completely
unrelated (like a superhero)? Or am I doing something completely new? I
do a little of each.If I’m making an
existing character, I research various ways they have been portrayed.
Sometimes I shoot for an existing design, and sometimes I modify the
look to fit what I want. If I’m creating an original character, I will
sometimes sketch the look out, in advance. I also have a large number
of sketches dating back to childhood that I pull design ideas from, or
that I try to recreate in plastic form. From there I decide what
parts will work best. To do this you have to know how to take apart
existing figures. Every type of toy has its own trick for doing so.
I’ve made figures before that have source parts from as many as 8
different toy lines, not even counting any sculpting or painting of my
own. And very few of the different toy lines are compatible, so I’m
always modifying parts to fit each other with X-acto and dremel and
glue.Sometimes a desired look
can be achieved by simply putting a new head on an existing figure.
Others end up completely Frankensteined and repainted from top to
bottom. One of my trademarks is that I often find parts outside of the
mainstream to use for my figures. Recently I’ve been accomplishing this
by buying Japanese “Gashapon” figures, which are actually little PVC
statues. With the right parts on hand, I can articulate one of those to
be a fully functional Joe-level of action figure rather than just a
static shelf-warmer. Most of my work falls somewhere in the middle, but
I feel there are no longer any limitations on what I’m able to make. After the basic figure
is assembled, I sculpt any missing detail (using Aves Fix-It, a 2-part
apoxie based sculpt that requires no baking), then paint using all sorts
of type and qualities of paint.I’ve become a bit
obsessed with having life-like eyes, even at this scale. I have a
process for skin-tones which has really been helping them come to life
of late as well. To finish or seal the paint work, I use plain old
matte Mod Podge, watered down and brushed over the final coat of paint.De: Most dollhouse
miniaturists I know create stories about their dollhouses and the people
who live in them. They often build a whole history for their mini
world. I even have a couple of “mini me’s,” one as a child and one as an
adult. Do your custom figures have stories, too? If so, can you share a
bit of the background? Dr. B: I almost always create a bit of fiction to go with the pieces I make.About
half of my customizing is geared towards existing characters from any
form of fiction. For example, characters from Batman make up a big part
of what I do. Same with the Avengers, and other comic book properties.
[*It’s probably a good
time to point out that my corner of the hobby is probably best labeled
as “Joe Customzier” (in fact the site I participate the most at is
called www.joecustoms.com).
However, I only rarely make customs of G.I. Joe characters. Instead, I
am using the Joe construction style as a foundation for making other
items. ]What I, and a few other
folks, do to distinguish our work, is to write the characters into one
cohesive world. So in my “verse” there is a story to support how Batman
knows Han Solo, as an example; the main military unit is supported by
fighter pilots like Starbuck and Apollo, and I could go on. It’s a fun
way to legitimize the way I played with these toys as a kid.I actually have three
different story lines going on at once, which I use as the format for
presenting my figures. The one I started with is referred to now as
“EXCAL”. It’s the name of a fictional organization made to bring all
the heroes of the world together, like the Justice League, but on
steroids. Lol. I put all of my contemporary pieces here, and it is
based 90% on existing characters from any medium. The second story is one
for which I have dreams of writing into an actual novel, though I
suspect I will have to settle for an amateur photo-novel instead. It is
a science fiction verse made up entirely of originally created
characters.

While it is traditional space opera at its core, I’m having
some fun right now making figures of some pals at Joecustoms.com and
writing them into some comedic side-scenes. It’s best to not take any
of this too seriously, though it may sound like I am way too serious
about it as I answer these questions. ;)

Lastly, a story I have
started on is a prequel of sorts, where the EXCAL verse I mentioned
above is recreated in a Victorian setting. It gives me a chance to make
figures of some non-contemporary heroes. In this world, Sherlock
Holmes takes the place of Batman, for example. This also gave me a good
reason to make 1:18 scale figures of a couple of Johnny West characters, as well, to bring that back full circle.De:
There are many dollhouse forums and blogs online. I have met some great
people that way and I’ve improved many of my mini skills by following
their tutorials. Do you have the same kind of online support and
friendships? Dr. B: Absolutely.
I’ve mentioned Joecustoms already, and I’ve become good friends with
more than a few folks from there, well beyond just the hobby of
customizing. But in terms of getting feedback and tips on my work, that
is the go-to place. I feel lucky that I’ve been there long enough to
have gone from the new guy asking for help to be one of the mainstays
helping to give it. In fact, just last year I was given a “lifetime
achievement” award for contributions to the community. I like to tell
myself it’s like being in the hall of fame ;) I also have my own
Facebook page under Dr. Bindy’s Customs, where I get to talk shop and
show off a bit.De: Tell us about some of the awards and rewards of your craft? Dr.
B: Have I mentioned that ‘hall of fame’ thing? ;) To take the question
literally, I’ve been lucky enough to be named “Customizer of the Year”
at Joecustoms, “Most Improved Customizer” 2 years in a row during my
first two years in the hobby, and other awards for specific skills, like
eye-painting. Also have had many specific figures win year-end awards,
and have had various figures submitted as contest entries which have
been winners as well.Rewards come in many
forms, but the validation I get when asked to do interviews like this
definitely hits the mark. I’ve had designers at Hasbro post comments on
my work before, which is very flattering, even if it only fans the
flames of wondering if I could be doing this as more than just a hobby.Perhaps the best reward
though is having my son turn down an action figure bought from the store
because he prefers the one I made for him.De:
Most dollmakers I know have a favorite they just can’t part with. Do
you have any favorites among your custom action figures? Dr. B: Usually whichever
self-inspired custom I am utilizing at the time is the hardest to part
with. That said, there are very few figures I’d not part with at all.
I’ll say my Batman custom is near the top, only because it took me 5
years to get him to where I like him. I did a custom of a DC Comics
character called Black Canary that people ask about the most. I mainly
haven’t sold her because of how much time I spent making her fishnet
stockings out of waterslide decals.Otherwise, though, I
have sold a lot of my work over the years. Sometimes I’ve moved on from
a certain character or theme and will choose to place pieces on ebay,
or sometimes I’ve simply been offered a deal I couldn’t say no to.
Usually it comes when someone asks if I will make a copy for them. I am
too busy to do commissions usually, so I will just set a price and sell
off the original.What I’ve learned to do,
however, is to just make a new one for myself whenever I do find the
time, and push myself to make the replacement even better than the
original. It helps drive up demand that way anyway.

De: If any of my followers are interested in having a custom figure created how do they contact you or see more of your work? Dr.
B: You can find most of my older work in the Gallery at Joecustoms.com
(and some new stuff, I’m trying to get my submissions caught up), and
most all of it is in the discussion forum under the critiques section,
if you don’t mind digging. Otherwise, look up my Facebook page under
DrBindysCustoms. You can post there if you have comments on any
figures, or send me pms as well.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

I am very excited about a new idea for my blog. I've been thinking about miniatures in various forms lately. I have an interview coming up very soon with someone very important to me who uses many of the same skills that we as dollhouse miniaturists use. I am just waiting on a few more photos of his work and then I will post the interview. Watch this space!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Hubby and I took what was supposed to be a quick walk to the garden last evening. Well, that resulted in two heaping full harvest baskets and a 5 gallon bucket full of corn. So today I froze corn, tried a new sweet pickle recipe, and started a crock of sauerkraut. I've never made sauerkraut and I really don't care for it...but hubby does. So I am experimenting and maybe I will like the version I make. In any case, I am now enjoying a rest in the recliner with my feet up. Dinner is planned and won't take long to put together so I have at least an hour more to rest.

I start back to work on Monday and I still have a lot of garden veggies still to ripen. Minis may be on an extended hold. I hope to at least fit in some little projects. Fingers crossed!

Friday, August 2, 2013

The stone work is finally finished...or at least all glued onto the building. I need to go over the seams once it's all dry but the time consuming part is finished. All the bottles and my antique iron are on the roof while the glue dries for the sandpaper roof. That may just be a base layer because I am not entirely happy with the way it looks.

This is the wall I've been working on for so long. By the time I got to this one I was just tired of the cut and glue process. I reworked the big sign today also. It's now mounted on heavy matboard and looks much more polished.

At some point I still want to do the corner sidewalk for these two sides. But for now I am happy that it's finished. :)

I found this small cabinet at Salvation Army yesterday. It was my reward after having blood work done. It took pokes in one arm, both hands and two techs to get one vial of blood. Not fun...so I am going to make myself a small scale baby house. ;-)

It will work well with 1:24 scale furnishings. I'm not sure when I will get to this but I like to have a couple of things on the back burner for when I get a stretch of mini making time. The little cat came from the thrift store, too. It will go into a one inch scale setting at some point.

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About Me

I've been happily married for 33 years to my high school sweetheart and we have three great kids. All are young adults. I'm currently working part time as an instructional assistant at the local elementary school. My mini life is especially important to me because it takes me away (better than a bubble bath!) from the stresses of real life. I've been involved with mini-ing since the late 1980s with a break for about 10 years while my children were young.
My faith and my family are very important to me. I am so thankful that God blessed me with the gift of creativity!